The most important reality for our hearts to embrace is that God loves us! With everything going on in the world this Christmas season, we can be comforted by the many reasons God loves us. Take a few minutes to read and personalize these statements and scriptures. How does your heart respond? How does this make you feel about God loving you?
• Because God loves me...He sent his only Son to die on the cross for my sins so that I have eternal life.
John 3:16,17, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."
• Because God loves me...I can love him and thereby love others too.
John 4:11,12 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us."
•Because God loves me...He is slow to lose patience with me.
Psalm 103:8, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."
•Because God loves me...He takes the circumstances of my life and uses them in a constructive way for my growth.
Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
• Because God loves me...He is for me. He wants to see me mature and develop in His love.
Philippians 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
• Because God loves me...I no longer have to receive condemnation.
Romans 8:1,2 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
• Because God loves me...He keeps on working patiently with me even when I feel like giving up and can't see why He doesn't give up with me too.
Philippians 2:12,13, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
• Because God loves me...He never says there is no hope for you. Instead, He patiently works with me, loves me, and disciplines me in such a way that it is hard for me to understand the depth of His concern for me.
Hebrews 12:5,6, "And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."
• Because God loves me...He never forsakes me, even though many of my friends may.
John 15:13-15, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
• Because God loves me...He stands with me when I have reached the rock bottom of despair when I see the real me and compare that with His righteousness, holiness, beauty, and love. It is at a moment like this that I can believe that God loves me.
Romans 8:38,39 "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
One of my driving passions is for our clients to understand at a heart level how much God loves them. As the reality of God's love for them is better understood, it has a significant impact on addressing their counseling need.
Because God Loves Me